When he pulled back I examined his tense features. “When did you tell them that?” I asked.
Jacob snorted. “Remember when we were five and you stole Max’s piece of cake. Right around then.”
“And when we were eight and you ran him over with your bike,” Tyson added.
“Not to mention when you kicked him in the b–”
“Okay, okay. Apparently, Max has spent much of our childhood lamenting the fact I was an annoying girl.”
Braxton stepped in the front door, his dark hair damp, stylishly tousled. “Don’t let them fool you, Max loved you from the first second you came into our lives. Twenty years.”
Maximus eyed his brother. “I’m not the only one, bro.”
Their intense exchange continued for a few long beats. I didn’t even want to know what the hell that was that all about. I was only grateful to feel that things were repaired between Maximus and me. The small rift which had appeared last night seemed to be gone. Everything felt right and normal.
Lienda broke the moment. “Okay then, maybe it’s time to head over for breakfast?” She was all snuggly with Dad on the couch. Which no longer seemed to piss me off. I’d gone from hating the woman to respecting her strength and thinking of her as a mother. Mind you, it would be a long time before I called her that.
“Wait!”
I spun to find Louis in the doorway, his cheeks with the slightest flush to them as if he’d run the entire way here. Although, I knew he could magic himself from one place to another, so I doubted he’d ran.
“The Four are here. They just requested permission to enter the perimeter. I need to spell Jessa now.”
I let out a large sigh. “Those assholes could not wait until after breakfast, seriously.” My parents’ horror-filled eyes locked on me. “What? A girl’s got to eat. It’s just rude.”
I huffed my way across the room to stand before the sexy mage. “Come on, let’s get this over with.”
Jacob snorted. “That’s what all the girls say to Louis.”
With a grin the sorcerer waved his hand and Jacob seemed to freeze to the spot. The fey opened and closed his mouth but couldn’t speak again. I stepped even further into Louis’ personal space. We were mere inches from each other.
“First time I’ve ever seen someone shut up Jake.”
Tyson laughed. “I need to learn that nifty trick.”
Louis chuckled before sweeping me into his arms and striding out the door.
“Fucking sorcerer,” I heard Jacob curse as we stepped into some sort of blurry wormhole thing and out the other side. We were at Louis’ home. He dropped me to my feet.
“My wards here will protect us while I try to contain your massive energy.” He leveled all of his intensity in my direction. “Tell me what happened when your mark was released?”
His purple eyes regarded me, and I felt as if he already knew I’d shifted into a dragon.
But I trusted Braxton’s judgment. If he thought I should keep my dual nature to myself for a while, well, that’s what I’d do. Even if Louis suspected, I wasn’t going to confirm it for him.
“Just a burst of power which released my wolf. I was no longer restricted by the securities on the prison.” I stayed as close to the truth as I could. “I sort of got some dragon features, but I locked the power back inside before anything too much happened.”
He nodded. “Your power is immense. I’m guessing that you’re so used to keeping it all contained that you haven’t even noticed the massive increase.”
It wasn’t exactly true, I could feel the curled sleeping power of my dragon. She was happy, content. It was strange, I’d expected a snarling beast and I knew that part of her could emerge at any time, but for right now … it was almost as if she was part wolf.
“I’m going to have to place my hands on your chest.” He had both of his arms aloft in front of him but hesitated to drop them on me. I knew he was waiting to see if I was okay with such intimate contact … especially after yesterday.
I bit my lip before nodding. “Thanks for checking in on my mental state, but I’m fine. Touch away.”
Dark streaks of blue flashed across his eyes. “I imagined you saying those words, just in slightly different circumstances.” He raised his eyebrows at me a few times. “But I’ll take it.”
We were still standing close to his hidden home and the waterfall that concealed it. Soft strands of green grass curled around my bare feet, and small slivers of sunshine broke through the canopy. It was cold today, but somehow Louis kept his area nice and temperate. My toes were thanking him for this. In one smooth movement he placed both hands on my chest, in the space just above the swell of my breasts. I flinched minutely, unable to stop my thoughts from returning to yesterday – my disgust and fear as that creature ran his hands over my body. I could still taste the bile and smell the fear which had permeated the air. My fear.